My Challenge
With this project, I was tasked with creating an engaging UI that was informative but also whimsical, a trove of illustrated and vector assets for Kickstarter, as well as creating a logo that looks to encapsulate magic itself.
My Roles
Sole Designer - Freelance
Overview
ARcana revolutionized the way that we play tabletop role-playing games: By bringing it into the world of augmented reality. ARcana takes your classic tabletop map and projects a 3D model into the players’ environments, all through the use of a cell phone camera lens and app.
Familiar Iconography
When taking such a classic system and bringing it into the world of technology, it’s very important to not lose the elements that tie it to such strong nostalgia. The goal with each of these icons was to emulate the look of a painted miniature (a core recognizable element of this play style), a sight that so many players find familiar.
This was achieved through:
Utilization of blank stock icon art which was retextured, recolored, and/or completely reworked.
The addition of new custom icons, requiring top-to-bottom illustration.
Making use of a more “painted” art style (that can scale to high resolutions).
Being a new brand emerging into the augmented reality marketplace, ARcana needed a logo that not only tied back to the familiar tabletop games we know and love but also conveyed the immersion that AR brings to the table.
Elements that were used to accomplish this:
Utilizing “language runes” that echo the lore found in tabletop fantasy games.
3-dimensional shapes that bring the logo to life while maintaining its scalability.
“Battle damage” on the metallic parts of the logo to convey a sense of adventure.
“Mage’s circle” surrounding a d20 to call back to the popular fantasy role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons.
A Logo That Mystifies
As with all things gaming, in order to get off the ground you need to acquire funding first and foremost. This is where Kickstarter© comes in. In order to have a successful Kickstarter campaign, you need to excite and immerse your potential supporters without having a finished product.
This highly successful Kickstarter* contained:
Illustrated “torn” page backgrounds to simulate the reading of a powerful wizard’s scroll.
Drawn map elements that communicate feelings of adventure.
“Metallic” containers and content frames that shine like armor or treasure.
All elements created with the client in mind: Every element was created to be used independently, or linked visually to others in a plug-and-play friendly format to allow endless client customization and independence.
*ARcana’s Kickstarter was funded in less than 8 hours after launch, receiving a grand total of $418,091 and hitting all of their stretch goals
